Composite cap or closure



H. D. PEASE AND W. P. COHOE.

CQMPOSITE CAP 0R CLOSURE. APPucATloN FILED AuG.23. |911.

Patented Aug.31, 1920.

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" UNITED. STATES HERBERT DoDGE PEAsE, or EIVEBDALE, NEW Yoan,

PATENT OFFICE..

RICHMOND HILL, AND WALLACE PATTEN COHOE, 0F ASSIGNORS T0 THE SANSEAL-CORPORATION, OF NEW coMrosTTE cAPoa cLosUaE.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that we,

siding at Richmond Hill, county of Queens, State of New York, and WALLACE P. Co- HoE, a citiz'en of the Dominion of Canada, residing at Riverdale-on-Hudson, in the State of New York, `have invented certain new and useful lImprovements in Composite Caps or Closures; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to closures for bottles, jars and other containers, in-v tended .primarily for containing and dispensing milk or other products, such as jams, jellies, oils, fats, mince-meat, medicines, drugs, salts, etc. It. has for its purpose to supply, in convenient form for the capping machine of a bottle or capping esa disk capable' of'being softened by heat to a degree sufficient to permit the capping mechanism to apply it securely to the open mouth of the container, whereupon, on cooling, it will set in secure and reliable sealing connection therewith.

Broadly considered, the invention comprises `the employment, as the mainelement of the material from `Which'the disk is to be prepared, of a sheet consisting of fiber impregnated with a greater weight `than itself of fresinous material and mineral filler, (as, for instance, filler clay). be convenient and fibrousmaterial of the product in the form of paper, the sheet of paper serving-as a connecting web whose felted fibers will give.

-to the product the necessary flexibility and toughness. It isnevertheless` intended that the resinous compound (i. e., the resinous material and filler) shall. be so4 associated with the paper in such proportion and in such manner that the fibers of the paper will not, to any substantial degree," reach the exterior surface; in other words, the felted fibers of the paper will be so hermetically inwithin the mass of resinous compound as to be protected in their substantial entirety from the access of mois- Y HERBERT DODGE PEASE, a citizen of the ,United States, re.

1t will preferable to supply the Specification of Letters Batent. Patented Ang. 31, 1920. Application mea August 23, 1917.. serial No. 187,747. I

ture from' without. In this characteristic phase of the invention, it is sharply distinguished from closures heretofore proposed, wherein the material from which the closure was made consisted of paper having a superficlal coating of what was intended to be a water-resisting exterior.

1n such prior closures, as far as We are aware, the effort to make the paper waterproof by impregnation with a water-proofmg compound seems to have been invariably directed towa'rd causing the waterproofing compound to subserve a subordinate rle; that is to say, the Awater-prooflng. compound was intended and used vmerely as a filler, so that, in spite of whatever impregnation was effected, the fibers of the paper to a greater or. less extent reached the outer surface of the completed sheet and therefore served as capillary tubes for conveying moisture to the interior. Consequently, these impregnated papers, in tended to be water-proof, would not sustain for any very extended period of time the vdemands-put upon them. If submerged in water' for a considerable lnumber of hours, they will be found to have lost their water-excluding characteristics.

The underlying characterlstlc ofthe .present invention, on the contrary, as above noted, consists in so combining the fibrous material with the resinous compound that the fiber will play the subordinate part` rather than the compound itself. This will involve usually the employment of so relatively considerable an amount of resinous compound that, as above noted it will predominate over the weight of the vpaperl which may even be present in so 'small` a proportionl as from 1 0 to`25%. Nevertheless, the presence of the paper, forming as it does a felted Acombination of fibers occupying thel interior of the compositedisks will assure the characteristics essential for working or shaping-the disks into the desired bottle caps or'like 'closures and to insure. Vthat they shall take on and subsequently I maintain a' permanent set. The paper and the resinous compound contribute to facilitate the formation ofthe caps or closuresand. likewise contribute to their l larly when associated with the reinforcing function of the bers.

In order to insure further the stability and.V

resistivity of the closure, the resinous compound should be applied in such manner thaty itwill not only be present in and around the net-work of felted fibers of the paper in the predominant proportions noted, but so that it will form a surface coating which, when continuous, will be practically water-resisting in the sense that it will cover substantially all of the paper fibers that might otherwise be subjected to moisture absorption, this surface coating opposing to the entrance of moisture, its own full waterrepelling qualities. The fiberlisthus doubly protected against the prejudicial effects of moisture absorption, to wit,-the tendency to cause expansion of the fibers and consequent distortion of the mass, which expansion and distortion would tend to cause the cracking of the surrounding compound with the admission of more water than would have been possible by reason'of the capillary conductivity of the fibers alone.

It will be understood that for some uses the supplemental outer coating of resinous p compound may be restricted to but one side of the closure. On the other hand, the closure may, and in many instances, will be made up of a plurality (two or more) of layers superimposed the one upon the other and united during the process ofV manufacture by running the layers through the compression rolls. These built up layers may likewise be faced either on one side or on both sides with an outer surface or film of the resinous compound, according to theuses to which it is intended to apply the closure; that is to say, whether, for such uses, it is either desirable or convenient to provide for fully protecting the closure from water penetration on one side only or on both sides.

. The closure may be further supplemented, (whetherl its main body portion consists of 1 a single layer of fiber impregnated with the resinous compound, or of a plurality of such layers) by applying toits outer surface, either on one side or\ on both sides avcoating of non-fibrous cellulose, prepared appropriately by the viscose reaction or other preferred method. The cellulose coating thus provided has notable advantages from a practical standpoint. Thus, it is found to be impervious to the resinous compound, so that the resinous compound cannot flow through the cellulose with consequent sur- -face discoloration. Further, it has the very important function of preventing the escape of the characteristic odors of resin from the the closure in the form of a layer prepared by the viscose reaction or the like. It effectively adapts itself to the\compoundim pregnated and compound-coated paper and conforms to the heating and bending operations which, in practice, ,are used for giving the closures their final form, and it likewise partakesof the permanent set which the closures receive as the resultv of their formation.

A cap or closure of this character, that is to say, made up of one or more layers of fiber, combined with the resinous compound in the manner described, and having a water-resisting coating of the resinous compound and also an outer layer of non-structural cellulose is found to be capable of immersion for several days in water without penetration of the water from the outer surface to the protected interior of the capped bottle or other vessel.

rllhis result is obtained in spite of the fact that the non-structural cellulose is, of itself, not impervious to water, so that it actually presents the severe test of being water-ao,

sorbent and of presenting the water which it has absorbed into very intimate contact with the underlying resinous compound, this conmilk, orthe like, it is desirable that the upper surface of the cap should be well adapted to the reception of a clear, sharp anddurable impression by printers ink, in order to comply with the requirements of municipal authorities for a printed record on the surface of the closure of the particular day and hour of bottling. The non-structural lcellulose not only presents a surface fully adapted to recelve a clear, sharp, and distinct print, but is found to prevent the softening up and disintegration of the fibers of the paper and the subsequent obliteration or clouding of the printing which would result if the non-structural'cellulose were not employed. In this respect, the printing surface presented by the closure is notably superior to the customary printing surface of the usual paper cap orl closure for such si.

receptacles, wherein the action of water y entering the individual filaments tends to loosen them up and disintegrate them to such an extent that the printing ink is so spread as to obscure the outlines 'of the outer surface thereof, but may likewise be.

' applied to the opposlte face i. e., the surface taste or odor of the resin.

next adjacent to the contents of the bottle or jar, and, in fact, the prescribed printing may be applied to said inner surface, if desired.` By so doing, oneto alter the printed indication ofthe date and' timeof bottling, while the printed characters would be secure 'againstv obliteration, because of the superior character of the printing surface and its permanent retention thereof despite the presence of the liquid contents of the application of the non-structural celluf lose layer to the inner face of the closure has the advantage of protecting the milk or other contents of the bottle, jar, or other container from taking on the characteristic of the non-structural cellulose layers is -that they are highly resistant to the passage of oily, fatty and resinous substances, and, indeed, to all materials of a colloidal nature, and, even though A further property absorbent t0 moisture, they would not tend.

to scuf off supericially by any ordinary accidental frictional rubbing. These are qualities which correspondingly 'contribute not only to the permanence of the surface as a printing surface, but also to its permai nence as a protection to the main body portion of the closurewithin.

A further advantage of the employment of the non-fibrous cellulose layers consists in the fact that in the vprintingoperation an ink may be employed containing a dye which will unite withthe non-fibrous cellulose in such a way that the printing cannot be erased except by a chemical process, or by such 'a mechanical process as would deface the cap and therefore disclose the attempted fraud. In making up the printing surface the non-structural cellulose solution' employed. may be given an admixture of blanc fixe, clay, or other suitable mineral substance appropriate to imparting to the coating a contrasting color to the ink em loyed as the printing medium.

While, for most uses, paper (andin fact, paper made-wholly or principally from sul. fite pulp) is preferred as thaeJ material for supplying' the fiber reinforcement to y the closure, other suitable fiber mayv be employed .either in the Aform of fabric vor in filamentarycondition. So also, the mineral filler may be either non-fibrous or fibrous or in part fibrous. and in part non-fibrous according to whether. or not it desired that' for any considerable when made up of .a

it would be impossible for any t tural cellulose. Fig. l2

the receptacle. Moreover,

' are indicated at e.' Thus,

, shown for instance,

Aand thev layers to the reinforcing effect-of the fabric'fibers.

These andother like modifications, within the general scope of not beffurther adverted'to herein.

In the accompanying drawing is .illus-l trated, in Figure 1, on a greatly enlarged scale, in section, a typical embodiment of the composite sheet from which the closures are to be cut, in the form which it assumes on top and bottom represents one of the closure dis s. .Figs 3 and 4 represent typical vforms of application of the disks as closures.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing, a illustrates the top layer and Z) the bottom layer of v iscose paper or non-structural cellulose; c

represents the layers of paper associated with the resinous material and mineral filler and coated at d with resinouscompound. Intermediate layers of resinous compound for instance, in building up a composite sheet, particularly adapted for supplying the disks to be used in making the closures for milk bottles and the like, in accordance within United States Patent to J. Bradley No. l,`160,369,`it will be suitable and convenientto employ a composite sheet ofthe relative proportions indicated in the drawing, wherein the layers a, b, of viscoseI paper or nonstructural cellulose c of paper associated with resinous material and filler are ofthe original thickness of say .006 of an inch, the individual layers e of the resinous material are of,say, .009 4of an inch and the coating -d of resinous compound is of, say, .001 of an inch. The combined thickness of these. layers, after compression to form the final composite sheet from which the disks are punched is ordinarily .06() to .070 of aninch.

Refer-ring further to this drawing, the

top and bottom layers a and consist of a the invention will lbe Y apparent to those skilled' in the art and need series of layers, flanked by alayer of non-struc-kv the procedure Y ioo paper which has beenv impregnated with viscose carrying a mineral filler, the characterv of the coating andimpregnation being such las to render the sheet tough and white. It presents a 'good printing surface and, in addition, has the property of not loosening up as to the individual fibers present when wet in water. The uncoated or `pure side of these layers a resinous com These two s eets a and b when laid with the viscose surface outward constitute the upper and lower surfaces of the cap or closure.

The sheets c constitute the main body portion of a capl or closure. As an example of one convenient method of manufacture, we

and b is given a coating e of` ound carrying a mineral filler.

made by passing a sheet of paper through a. coating machine which applies the resinous compound carrying the mineral filler to the sheet, impreg-nating it nearly, but not quite, through and through. In order to obtain a thorough impregnation, the sheet may then be coated a second time, with the result that the finished sheet which is used in making the caps or closures consists-(1) of an inner portion lwhich is made up of paper heavily impregnated with the resinous material and filler; (2) a light layer d of resinous material and mineral filler on the side which is coated first; and a relatively heavy layer c of resinous material and mineral filler on the surface which was coated last.

The number of sheets which may be used to constitute the completed cap or closure will vary with the purpose to which the'cap or closurt` may be put. For instance, in some instances. a light cap consisting of four or five sheets willbe employed, whereas to obtain extra mechanical strength it may, in other cases, benecessary to employ 7 or 8 sheets of the gage referred to. Usually the variation in the number of sheets is not made with respect to the viscose coating sheets n, I), which constitute the outside surfaces of the finished cap or closure, but the variation is made in the number of filling sheets 'which constitute the interior or main body portion thereof.

The sheets constituting the blank from which the disks are punched, are, generallyV speaking, put together in one of two different ways, as follows, to witl. The impregnated and coated sheets may be heated to an extent which renders the compound on the surface of each sheet sufticientlywarmvto be sticky, and in this statethe warmed sheets are passed between one or more sets of rollers, set at. a proper distance apart to secure the consolidation of thesheets into a composite board -of the desired properties, on issuing from the pass of the rollers.

2. The consolidation may be conducted at a lower temperature by using higher vpressures, and, in fact, a composite sheet of greater strength may be obtained by simply warming the sheets slightly and then causing them to be acted upon between the plates of an hydraulic press, which cause a consolidation and a flowing together -ofthe adjacent surfaces of the compound.' l

It will, of course, be understood that the illustration given in Fig. 1 of the drawing isbut typical of one of the many ways in whichl the composite sheet or board is susceptiblel of embodiment. Figs. 3 and 4; illustrate typical forms of closures made from the disk. shown in Fig. 2, and shown as applied to the mouth of a receptacle (such as a milk bottle) The amount of resinous compound d, e, to be employed between the individual layers c will depend upon the degree of waterproofing which is required when the cap or closure is used for a particular purpose. For instance, if a bottle is to be Acapped to hold dry chemicals,'it is not necessary to employ as much compound' for the intervening layers d, e. In all cases, however, the amount employed should at least be sufiicient to cause the compound-impregnated layers of paper not only to stick together but to maintain a permanent set` after the vcap or closure has been applied to the bottle, jar, or other receptacle by the cappingY machine.

It may be noted further, that the more v thorough the impregnation of thev paper by the resinous compound, the better are the results obtained. lVhen, in addition to this an` additional. layer of the compound is applied to onesideof the sheet of paper already impregnated,'an element of structure is presented which is almost impervious to water on the uncoated side, and practically impervious to water on the coatedside. So far as we are aware, such an element or unit of structure in a closure is of itself broadly new, in addition to the structure formed by build; ing up a number of these elements and forming therefrom a composite closure as exemplified, for instance, in the drawing.

The individual units or elements making up the composite are, as hereinbeforel indicated, 100

caused to adhere or stick to each other by pressure, aided by a moderate degree of heat, that is to say, a degree of heat sufficient for the purpose. It is obvious that the greater the pressure the lower is the degree of heat required, and, by the employment of such high pressures as are obtainable in the hydraulic press, the consolidation of the various layers into a composite whole from which the disks. to be employed in making up the caps or closures are cut may be accomplished at a comparatively low temperature. When, for instance, the individual lsheets comprising the compound sheet are to be consolidated by superposing them the one on the other and passing them through heated rollers, said individual sheets are led through a heated chamber, and in passing through become heated to such an extent thatthe resinous material becomes plastic and sticky so that when the resinous compound from appearing on the outside of the cap or closure. It is found that the capping Voperation will not force the resinous compound through the nonstructural cellulose either on the upper surface o'f the closure so as to-interfere or darken the White printing surface thereof,

nor Will the resinous compound be forced through the inner layer of non-structural cellulose so as to stick tothe bottle, jar, or the like. This prevention of'- tlie extrusion of the resinous material from lthe heated cap is a safe-guard -against its entrance into the mechanism of the crimping fingers of the machine preferred for applying the cap or closure .to the receptacle, z'. e., a machine of the Bradley. type hereinbefore referred to wherein a clrcular series of tucking or' crimping fingers, radially arranged, apply the disk to the mouth lof thev receptacle.

4We do not restrict ourselves to the em-` ployment of non-fibrous cellulose, in so far as its fnction is concerned `of supplying a surface film -or integ-ument 'not soluble 'in Water and not penetrated easily by oily or resinous materials, but may,..in'son 1e instances, employ as substitutes, other substances, having these particular qualities, as for instance, casein, hardened gelatin, modified starches, and the like. So also, insome instances, the inside of the cap or closure may be lined with a layer of -metal foil, as a protection against the action of certaln corrosive liquids. I

When paper is employed in the making up of the composite sheet characteristic of our invention, it shoiild preferably, as hereinbefore indicated, lbe formed 'from suliite pulp and should have imparted to it during its passage through the paper machine a.

crinkled structure, by meanswell known in the art for that purpose; so that, on issuing from the paper machine and Without calendering, it may be the better adapted,

by reason of its open texture 'and absorpfiller associated with a reinforcement of tive character,to readily associate itself with the resinous compound and lmineral filler.

What We claim is: l. A cap or closure for bottles and other receptacles, comprising as an element of structure a layer made up of a preponderating bulk of resinous compound and mineral fiber; substantially as described.

2. A cap or closure for bottles and other receptacles, 4comprising as an element of structure a layer made up of a preponderating bulk of resinous compoundl and mineral filler associated with a reinforcement of fiber, said fiber being in sheet form; substantially as described.

3. A cap vor closure for bottles and other receptacles, comprising 'as an element of structure a layer made up. of a preponderating bulk of resinous compound and mineral ller associated with a reinforcement of fiber, said fiber being in the form of a paper sheet; substantially as described.

4. A capor closure for bottles and other receptacles, comprising a main body portion made up of a resinous compound, a mineral filler, and reinforcing fiber, and having an outer surfacing of material insoluble in water and resistant to penetration by oily or resinous materials; substantially as descrlbed.

5. A cap o r closure for bottles and other receptacles, comprising a main body portion 'made up of a resinous compound, a mineral filler, 'and reinforcing fiber, and vhaving an,

outer surfacing of non-structural cellulose;

substantially as described.- a y 6'. A cap or closure forbottles and lother receptacles, comprising a main body portion made up of aresinous compound, a mineral filler, and reinforcing fiber, and having von its upper surface a layer of non-structural cel-l lulose provided with a printing surface; substantially as described.

7. 'A cap or closure for bottles and other receptacles, comprising a main body portion` made up of a resinous compound, a mineral filler, and reinforcing fiber, and having on its lower surface a layer of non-structural cellulose; substantially as' described. v

8. A cap or closure for bottles andother receptacles, comprising a main body portion made up of a series of individual units or elements superposed upon each other, said units or elements cons1sting of a preponden' ating bulk of resinous compound and mineral filler associated with reinforcing fiber, and.

intervening layers of resinous compound between the said units or elements, and a top layer of a material insoluble in Waterand resistant to penetration by oily and resinous compound; substantially as described.

10. A cap or closure for bottles and -other receptacles, comprising a main body portion made up of a-resinous compound, a mineral ller, and reinforcing liber, and having on its lower surface a layer of non-structural cellulose and having 'a top layer of non-struc-A tural cellulose having a printing surface; j

substantially as descr1bed.

. 11. A cap or closure for'pbottles and other f receptacles, comprising a main body portion made up of a resinous compound, a mineral filler, and reinforcing ber, having an uppel.`

surfacing of material insoluble in Water and made up of a resinos compound, a mineral resistantto penetration by oily or resinous filler, and reinforcing fiber, and having an materials, and having 0n its lower surface a upper and lower layer of material resistant 10 .layer of non-structural cellulose; substanto extrusion of resin; substantially as detially as described. y scribed.

l2. A cap or closure for bottles and other .HERBERT DODGE PEASE. receptacles, comprising a main body portion WALLACE PATTEN (JOHOE. 

